Russians don’t think President Medvedev is country’s leader

RIA Novosti Moscow, Aug 1 (RIA Novosti) Less than 10 percent of Russians see President Dmitry Medvedev as the real leader of the country, according to a July opinion poll released by the Yury Levada Centre. When asked “Who holds the real power in the country?” more than 36 percent said Prime Minister Vladimir Putin did, while only nine percent saw Medvedev as the main figure.

Some 47 percent of those interviewed answered that power was shared by “both equally”. Eight percent gave no answer.

When pollsters asked the same question in March, after Medvedev had been elected president but before Putin had stepped down, popular view was that power was shared more equally.

In the March survey 47 percent said power was divided equally between the two leaders while 21 percent picked Putin as the real leader and 20 percent went for Medvedev. Twelve percent were unable to answer. RIA Novosti